Turkey: The Turkish Update - Third Quarter 2009

Banking and Finance

Finance companies can extend foreign currency indexed
loans:

Various amendments to the Communiqué No. 2008-32/34 on
Protection of Turkish Currency came into effect on 11 July 2009.
The amendments enable "finance companies" (as referred to
in the Banking Law (Law No. 5411)) to extend foreign currency
indexed loans to real persons and legal entities. "Finance
companies" can only extend these loans to real persons if
those loans are for "commercial and occupational
purposes".

New measures for gold, silver and platinum
loans:

The amendments to the Communiqué No. 2008-32/35 on
Protection of Turkish Currency made on 24 July 2009 introduced
various new measures:

Banks may extend gold, silver and platinum loans only to
clients producing and trading precious metals.

Banks may extend gold, silver and platinum loans by indexing
them against the relevant precious metal (i.e. paying a cash amount
equivalent to the value of the relevant precious metal on the
extension date). In such a case, Turkish resident borrowers can
only borrow in Turkish Liras. However, borrowers living abroad may
borrow in Turkish Lira or a foreign currency. The former version of
the Communiqué did not allow banks to issue this loan (as
the bank always had to deposit the precious metal with the
borrower).

Corporate and Commercial (including capital
markets)

New tender offer communiqué:

The official gazette published the Communiqué Serial IV,
No. 44 (the Tender Offer Communiqué) of the Capital Market
Board (CMB) on 2 September 2009. The CMB has cancelled the rules on
tender offers in a previous general Communiqué and has
replaced them with the specific, clearer and more-detailed Tender
Offer Communiqué.

The Tender Offer Communiqué makes the following key
changes:

The threshold which triggers a compulsory tender offer is now a
change in the management control of a public company. This change
might be by gaining (directly or indirectly) 50 per cent or more of
the share capital or voting rights of that company (the threshold
under the previous rules was 25 per cent).

It defines "management control" as a person (either
acting alone or in concert with other people) holding (directly or
indirectly) 50 per cent or more of the share capital or voting
rights of a public company. Regardless of the shareholding
percentage mentioned above, "management control" would
include holding privileged shares that grant a right to
appoint/propose a simple majority of the board of directors.

It deletes some of the compulsory tender offer exemptions (such
as general assembly approval with a certain majority). However it
also introduces some new exemptions (such as (i) sharing equally of
the management control of a public company by two or more
shareholders and (ii) an intra-group transfer of management control
shares).

It changes some of the time periods about pricing compulsory
tender offers. For example, under the new Communiqué, the
price of a tender offer cannot be below the maximum price paid for
the same shares six months before the tender offer. This time
period used to be three months.

It sets out the principles on interest and exchange rates which
might apply to a tender offer price.

It regulates voluntary tender offer rules more clearly and in
more detail. The new Communiqué clearly provides that an
investor can make a voluntary tender offer for all or a part of the
shares of the public company.

It sets out the public disclosure principles in tender offers
more clearly and in more detail.

Future editions of the Turkish Update will comment on these key
changes in more detail, but meanwhile please let us know if you
have further questions on the changes carried out by the Tender
Offer Communiqué.

CMB introduces two new investment instruments.:

(1) Intermediary institution warrant. The Official Gazette
published the CMB's Communiqué Serial III, No. 37 on 21
July 2009. This Communiqué sets out the principles of
registration and selling/buying of intermediary institution
warrants. The Communiqué defines an "intermediary
institution warrant" as a security which provides its holder a
right to sell/buy an underlying asset or an "indicator"
(i.e. in security indexes set up by the CMB) at a determined price
between two specific dates. Intermediary institutions (including
licensed brokerage companies and banks) can issue this instrument
based on a share(s) in the Istanbul Stock Exchange 30 Index or (if
CMB specifically approves) convertible foreign currency, precious
metals, goods or internationally recognised indexes.

(2) Securities secured by assets. The Official Gazette
published the CMB's Communiqué Serial III, No. 38 on 12
September 2009. This Communiqué sets out the principles of
issuing and trading of securities secured by assets. The
Communiqué defines such securities as a debt instrument
which certain assets and receivables secure. These assets and
receivables include consumer loans, commercial loans, receivables
arising from financial and leasing agreements, receivables arising
from exports, and receivables arising from the sale of houses by
the Housing Development Administration of Turkey. Banks, financing
companies, companies eligible for financial leasing, real estate
investment trusts and public institutions eligible to issue
securities can issue such securities.

Council of Ministers changed the limits for issuing debt
instruments:

The Official Gazette published the Council of Ministers'
decision (dated 3 August 2009, numbered 2009/15344) on 3 September
2009. This decision provides that a public company cannot issue
debt instruments which are of a value that is more than 10 times
its equity capital shown in its externally-audited financial
statements for the last accounting period. For a non-public
company, the same limit is six times its equity capital. The limits
for issuing such a debt instrument to the public (as opposed to
private sales to institutional investors or private individuals)
are half of the limits mentioned previously.

Council of Ministers changed the registration fees for
capital markets instruments:

The Official Gazette published Council of Ministers'
decision (dated 3 July 2009, numbered 2009/15330) on 4 September
2009. This decision provides different registration fee ratios
based on the capital markets instrument being offered. This is
contrary to the previous decision which provides a fixed
registration fee ratio of 0.2 per cent for any capital market
instrument.

Competition

New guidelines on vertical agreements: The
Turkish Competition Board (TCB) published New Guidelines on
Vertical Agreements in August 2009. This legislation aims to
explain in more detail how the vertical agreements should be
evaluated under the Block Exemption Communiqué on Vertical
Agreements No. 2002/2 (Block Exemption Communiqué). In 2007
the TCB legislated that only undertakings with less than a 40 per
cent market share could apply the Block Exemption Communiqué
(which narrowed the scope of this Communiqué). The new
Guidelines detail and clarify the conditions under which vertical
agreements of undertakings with a market share above the 40 per
cent threshold can benefit from an individual exemption under Law
No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition.

Investigation against the nine largest banks of Turkey:

On 25 August 2009, the TCB launched an investigation against the
nine largest banks of Turkey, namely Türkiye Garanti
Bankası A.Ș., Akbank T. A.Ș.,
Türkiye iș Bankası AŞ.,
Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş., Türkiye
Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O., Finans Bank
A.Ş., Denizbank A.Ş., Yapı ve Kredi
Bankası A.Ş. (as the successor of Koçbank
A.Ş.) and T. Halk Bankası A.Ş. (as the
successor of Pamukbank T. AŞ.). The TCB has announced that
it launched an investigation following collusion claims for these
banks about the rebates they offer to public and private
institutions on salary payments. The same day, the TCB announced
that it declined complaints which were made against Garanti
Bankası AŞ., Akbank T. A.Ş. and HSBC
Bank A.Ş. due to lack of evidence. The complaints
concerned alleged collusion re: paying salary rebates to personnel
of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Investigation against Dogan group
companies:

On 18 September 2009, the TCB announced that it has launched an
investigation against DoŞan Yayın Holding
A.Ş., Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve
Matbaacılık A.Ş., DoŞan
Gazetecilik A.Ş., BaŞımsız
Gazeteciler Yayıncılık A.Ş. and
DoŞan Daily News Gazetecilik ve
Matbaacılık A.Ş. The investigation aims
to find out whether these companies have breached the Competition
Act throughout their sales of advertisement spots in the written
media (newspapers).

Investigation against 19 companies in automotive
business:

On 30 September 2009, the TCB announced that it has launched an
investigation against 19 companies active in automotive business.
TCB launched this investigation based on the claims that these
companies have been sharing target and stock information and sales
and price strategies since 2006.

Investigation against the Turkish Pharmacists'
Association:

On 30 September 2009, the TCB announced that it had launched an
investigation against the Turkish Pharmacists' Association. The
TCB announced that they launched this investigation because there
were allegations that the Turkish Pharmacists' Association was
deciding the buy conditions of the pharmacies outside the market.
The Turkish Pharmacists' Association had previously called the
members of the Association to boycott some drug manufacturers and
importers for decreasing the discounts and terms offered to
pharmacies.

Telecommunications

Number Portability Regulation published on 2 July
2009:

Following the decision by the Information and Communication
Technologies Authority (ITCA) to allow subscribers to keep their
mobile numbers when switching from one operator to another in 2008,
the ITCA published the Number Portability Regulation. The aim of
this Regulation is to set out rules and procedures on carrying out
number portability in the Turkish market. Please let us know if you
want further information on the detail of this Regulation.

Spectrum Management Regulation published on 2 July
2009:

Following the Electronic Communication Law's introduction of
detailed rules on spectrum management, the ITCA has issued the
Spectrum Management Regulation. The Regulation provides fundamental
principles of spectrum management in the Turkish telecoms market.
According to the Regulation, the ITCA is the sanctioned body to
carry out all formalities on national frequency planning, grant of
frequencies, international frequency coordination and registration.
The Regulation states that those who wish to install and manage
radio equipment or systems must have their frequency assignment and
registration procedures approved by the ITCA. The Regulation also
includes rules on the permission for the installation and use of
radio, radio licences, granting satellite position, coded and
cryptographic communications, and spectrum overseeing and
inspection.

Access and Interconnection Regulation published on 8
September 2009:

This Regulation replaces the former Interconnection Regulation
of 2007 and harmonises its rules with the general framework set
forth under the Electronic Communication Law. While introducing a
new approach on "access and interconnection obligation"
of the operators with significant market power, the Regulation does
not bring a major change on the interconnection and access tariffs.
Please let us know if you want further information on the detail of
this Regulation.

Pharmaceuticals

Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Pharmacies and
Pharmacy Services published on 23 July 2009:

The Regulation provides details on the use of electronic
prescriptions and allows pharmacies and patients to keep and access
their prescription records electronically.

Decree Amending the Decree on the Pricing of Medicinal
Products for Human Use published on 18 September 2009:

The Changes introduced by the Decree resulted in price falls for
both patented and generic drugs. According to the newly-adopted
medicine pricing regime the Price Valuation Commission will
determine "reference produce" prices every three months
which relevant companies can use to calculate pharmaceutical
prices. Please let us know if you want further information on the
details of this Decree and the new pricing regime.

Employment

Regulation on Health and Safety Departments in
Workplaces and Common Health and Safety Units:

Published on 15 August 2009. Sets out principles and procedures
in health and safety departments in workplaces; and common health
and safety units that can provide services to Turkish companies
with more than 50 employees.

Regulation on Workplace and Employee-Related Notices to
State Authorities:

Published on 21 July 2009. This legislation concerns notices
(about the workplace and an employee's social security) which
are made to the Social Security Authority. From now on, the law
will count any such notices as also served to the Turkish
Employment Authority and District Offices of the Ministry of Labour
and Social Security.

Ministerial Decision No. 2009/15129:

Published on 2 July 2009. The decision enables employers to
extend the period in which they can officially suspend/decrease the
workload of employees by six months.

Insurance

Regulation on Private Pensions
Intermediaries:

Published on 29 August 2009, this legislation sets out
principles and procedures on becoming a private pensions
intermediary. It also contains various information on
intermediaries' operations, working principles, exams,
trainings, licences, etc.

organisation and duties of the Insurance Auditing Board, which
may conduct any audit, investigation and research on its duties and
authorities under the Insurance Law;

authorities, duties and responsibilities of the related
personnel working at the Insurance Auditing Board; and

recruitment of the personnel and officials to the Insurance
Auditing Board.

Real Estate

Amendments to the Law on Condominium No.
634:

Under this amending law dated 7 July 2009, Land Registries must
make certain changes to their records. The changes include the
registration of a ownership/sale right on a condominium that is
being partially built on a parcel of land. The amending law also
contains principles and procedures on how to make these
changes.

Energy and Infrastructure (including oil and gas and
electricity)

Regulation on Amending the Electricity Market Licensing
Regulation:

Published in the Official Gazette on 30 September 2009. Legal
entities applying to EMRA for a licence will have to send EMRA a
Positive Environmental Impact Assessment Decision if the
Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation applies to them.

Generation companies that hold licences or companies that
received an approval from EMRA for their licences need to file an
application to the relevant authority (to get a Positive
Environmental Impact Assessment Decision) within 60 days of the
effective date of the Amending article (i.e. by the end of November
2009). Otherwise, EMRA will impose the sanctions in Article 11 of
the Electricity Market Law (which include fines or in extreme cases
terminating relevant licences). EMRA will either revoke the
licences of the generation companies that do not get a Positive
Environmental Impact Assessment Decision within 300 days of such
legislation or reject their licence applications.

Privatisation of Baskent Dogalgaz Dagitim A.S. on the
agenda:

The Privatisation Supreme Council (the Council) has decided that
the privatisation scope and programme will cover the sale of the
shares of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Presidency (the
Municipality) in Baskent Dogalgaz Dagitim A.S. (the Company)
under:

the letter of the Privatisation Administration Presidency (the
Administration) dated 2 July 2009 and numbered 4588;

the Provisional Article 3(e) of the Natural Gas Market Law No.
4646; and

the Privatisation Law No. 4046.

After the Council's decision date, the Municipality will
transfer 80 per cent of the Company's shares to the
Administration without any cost and further duty. Then, the link
between the Company and the Municipality will disappear and the
Administration will hold the Company. The relevant shares'
privatisation will take place through a "sale" method.
Please let us know if you want further information on this proposed
privatisation.

Privitisation of Menderes Elektrik Dagitim A.S on the
agenda:

Additionally, the Privatisation Administration included in its
programme Menderes Elektrik Dagitim A.S.'s privatisation
through a "sale" method based on:

the Privatisation Supreme Council's decision dated 23 July
2009 and numbered 2009/47; and

the Privatisation Administration Presidency's letter dated
13 July 2009 and numbered 4763. The Privatisation Supreme Council
wishes to finish the privatisation by 31 December 2010. Please let
us know if you want further information on this proposed
privatisation.

Mining

Amendment in the Mining Legislation:

Published in the Official Gazette on 19 August 2009. The
parliament added a temporary article into the Mining Activities
Permit Regulation. It specifies that until a new arrangement on
mining in forests takes place, the Regulation on Permits to be
Issued in Areas Considered as Forests will regulate the necessary
permits. These include the necessary permits for mining exploration
and operation in forests, conservation forests and forestation
regions.

Media

Turkish Radio and Television Authority –
Regulation on Advertisements: Published in the Official
Gazette on 26 August 2009. The new legislation introduces
principles and procedures on advertisements on radio, television
and other media that are under the regulatory scope of the Turkish
Radio and Television Authority. The legislation includes principles
on (i) the content, (ii) implementation and (iii) determination of
length and prices related to advertisement broadcasts. It also
allows the broadcast of advertisements in foreign languages and
introduces principles on such broadcasts.

Law No. 1567 on Protection of Turkish Currency (the Law) came
into effect on 25 February 1930. The Law vested the Turkish Council
of Ministers (the Council) with the authority to set up regulatory
measures for protection of the value of Turkish currency. Based on
this authority, the Council adopted the Decree No. 32 on Protection
of Turkish Currency which came into effect on 11 August 1989 (the
Decree). The Law, the Decree and various Communiqués of the
Central Bank of Turkey (the Central Bank) set out the fundamental
principles on domestic and international exchange of currencies,
precious metals, goods and capital in Turkey.

Due to the changes in the Turkish economic climate and varying
political approaches, the Council has amended the Decree many times
since its promulgation in 1989. The Council's latest amendments
effective from 16 June 2009 are significant (the 2009 Amendments).
In particular, the Council has made some comprehensive changes to
article 17 of the Decree (entitled "Loans"). We summarise
some of the key changes to article 17 below:

1 Extension of foreign currency loans by Turkish banks
and residents

The 2009 Amendments change the characteristics of the foreign
currency loans described in article 17/b of the Decree, and
introduce new types of foreign currency loan. Therefore, following
the 2009 Amendments:

Turkish Residents (defined broadly as "real persons and
legal entities whose legal domicile is in Turkey, including the
Turkish citizen employees, self-employed and individual business
owners abroad") may extend commodity loans according to
applicable import and export regimes.

Turkish banks may extend foreign currency loans of the
following types:

Foreign currency loans for financing exports, export considered
sales and deliveries. Please note the 2009 Amendments have
cancelled the 18-month minimum term condition that previously
applied to such loans. A circular of the Central Bank dated 22 June
2009 confirms this cancellation but notes the loans shall still be
subject to the applicable tax legislation and the banks are
responsible for ensuring that their clients are fully told about
the tax implications of these loans.

Foreign currency loans which are allowed by an investment
incentive certificate of a borrower or for financing investment
goods.

Foreign currency loans which are provided to Turkish
entrepreneurs engaged in business abroad, and to Turkish residents
that have undertaken works through international or domestic
tenders or defence industry projects approved by the
Undersecretariat of Defence Industry.

Foreign currency loans which are of USD$5 million or more and
have an average term of more than one year. Please note the
circular notes that Turkish banks can extend these loans to real
persons as well as legal entities. Another circular of the Central
Bank dated 8 September 2009, allows Turkish banks to extend these
loans in multiple tranches. However: (i) the first tranche of the
loan must be at least USD$5 million; and (ii) the average term of
the loan (taking all tranches into account) must be more than one
year.

Foreign currency loans which are for commercial or occupational
purposes in exchange for certain security. Borrowers may provide
foreign currency deposits held in Turkish banks and/or securities
issued by or with the surety of the central administration or
central bank of a member state of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development as such security. However, the foreign
currency loan amount cannot exceed the value of such security. The
Central Bank's circular of 22 June 2009 states the relevant
security must be secured by pledge or transfer agreement.

Foreign currency loans which are permitted or set up by the
Ministry associated with the Undersecretariat of Treasury.

Although new types of foreign currency loan are allowed under
the 2009 Amendments, one consequence of the 2009 Amendments is that
Turkish banks are no longer able to offer real persons foreign
currency real property mortgages. This ensures that Turkish
banks/borrowers are not exposed to foreign currency risk on the
purchase of Turkish real property.

On 16 June 2009, the Council included a new paragraph (e) in
article 17 of the Decree stating that: "Banks may extend
foreign currency indexed loans to Turkish residents for commercial
or occupational purposes."

According to the Central Bank's circular of 22 June 2009,
Turkish resident real persons must provide Turkish banks with:

an official statement from the relevant professional
organisation stating the relevant real person is engaged in
commercial or occupational activities;

their tax id number; and

a written statement that the loan will be used for commercial
or occupational purposes.

This circular also states the banks cannot extend the term of
the foreign currency indexed loans that have been already extended
to real person Turkish residents before the effective date of
amendments to the Decree (i.e. 16 June 2009).

On 16 June 2009, the Council included a new paragraph (f) to
article 17 of the Decree. According to this new provision, real
person Turkish residents cannot secure foreign currency loans or
foreign currency indexed loans in Turkey or from abroad, other
than:

foreign currency loans described in article 17/b of the Decree
(as detailed in paragraph 1 above); and

Based on this, Turkish resident real persons will not be able to
secure foreign currency loans from abroad, effective 16 June 2009.
The reasoning behind this outcome is the foreign currency loan
types defined in article 17/b of the Decree can only be extended by
Turkish residents.

Conclusion: protection of the Turkish currency and Turkish
banks

Therefore, the 2009 Amendments protect the Turkish currency by
ensuring that Turkish residents use Turkish banks for any foreign
currency loan transactions.

Recent trends in Turkish renewable energy
legislation

Thanks to its unique location and climate, Turkey enjoys diverse
renewable energy resources including hydro, wind, solar, geothermal
and biomass. However, despite its enormous potential, the
currently-installed renewable capacity of Turkey1 is
low.

Below, we set out a summary of incentives under the current
legislation and the Draft Renewable Law (the Draft Law) followed by
our views on Turkey's approach towards renewable energy.

1 Current renewable energy legislation

1.1 Introduction

The Electricity Market Law No. 4628 sets out the general
regulatory framework for electricity in the Turkish energy market.
The Electricity Market Licensing Regulation (which focuses on rules
and procedures relating to the licensing of these activities by the
Electricity Market Regulatory Authority or EMRA) complements this
law. With this in mind, the key piece of legislation about
renewable energy is the Renewable Energy Law No. 5346.

Legal entities which apply for licences to build electricity
facilities using domestic natural resources and renewable energy
resources currently only pay one per cent of the total licensing
fee. These entities are also currently free from paying annual
licence fees for the first eight years following the facility
completion date.

Renewable energy generators may buy electricity directly from
private electricity wholesale companies if they do not exceed the
annual average generation amounts mentioned in their licences for
that calendar year.

The state-owned electricity transmission company, TEIAS, and/or
distribution licence-holding legal entities have the duty to give
priority to renewable energy generators when connecting them to the
grid.

Retailer licence holders (Retailers) must give priority to
energy produced through renewable energy resources. This rule
applies when (i) the purchase price for electricity produced by
renewable sources is equal to or lower than the sale price of TETAS
(state-owned wholesaler) and (ii) there are no other cheaper supply
alternatives.

1.3 Incentives under the Renewable Energy
Law

The Renewable Energy Law covers certain investment
incentives.2 These include:

Fixed minimum price: The Law sets a fixed
range between a minimum price of 5.0 Euro cents and a maximum price
of 5.5 Euro cents for electricity produced from renewable energy
sources.

Compulsory purchase by Retailers: Legal
entities holding a retail sale licence must purchase a specified
amount of electrical energy from RES certified generators (RES
Certified Generators) which have not yet reached a total operation
period of 10 years.

Incentives re: state-owned land: Renewable
energy generators enjoy an 85 per cent discount on the rent or
costs related to getting a right of access/ use on state-owned land
within the first 10 years of their investment and operation.

2 Draft Law

2.1 Introduction

Political discussions on the Draft Law are continuing and as a
result the Turkish Parliament has not yet adopted the law (although
many investors had hoped the Parliament would impose it earlier
this year).

One reason behind the delay in the Draft Law's enforcement
is the Turkish Treasury finds the proposed pricing incentives
(based on feed-in tariff) too high. This is because state-owned
entities such as TETAS and TEDAS make up most of the buyers in the
electricity market.

2.2 Pricing incentives under feed-in
tariff3

The feed-in tariff offers renewable energy generators favourable
fixed minimum electricity sale prices. Therefore, under this system
the prices of electricity produced from renewable resources will be
pre-determined depending on the installed power generator. The
fixed prices range from 7 to 25 Euro cents/kWh.

Solar power (both concentrated and photovoltaic) and biomass
generation facilities can enjoy fixed electricity prices for their
second 10 years of operation. This is unlike the ones that are
using other renewable energy resources which may benefit from fixed
prices for only their first 10 years.

Legal entities holding a renewable energy generation licence and
wishing to benefit from this system have to pre-apply to EMRA by 31
October of the year before they wish to benefit. Generators
included in the system shall remain for one year. However,
following this one-year period it appears that they can then opt
out and choose to sell electricity in the spot market with spot
market prices.

2.3 Incentives through pooling of payments

The Draft Law provides that suppliers of electricity (as
Electricity Market Law defines) must pay into a pool which PMUM
(the Market Financial Settlement Centre – a division of
TEIAS) manages. Renewable energy generators will be able more
easily to collect their revenues from this pool.

The pool will perform to provide an effective off-take guarantee
for all renewable energy generators that opt into this system since
this will guarantee the sale of that renewable energy
generator's electricity.

This incentive is broader than the compulsory buying incentive
for Retailers under the current Renewable Energy Law (see the
second bullet point under paragraph 1.3 above). This is because the
term "Suppliers" (which the Draft Law refers to) is much
broader than "Retailers" (which the Renewable Energy Law
refers to) and includes Retailers, plus wholesalers, and generators
(who sell to end-users/free consumers) etc. Therefore, eligible
consumers choosing to buy electricity from sources other than
Retailers (the Suppliers have a wider scope covering any such
sources) will not dilute the effectiveness of the off-take
guarantee in the Draft Law.

Finally, as the fixed electricity sale prices are higher than
under the current legislation it is much more likely that RES
Certified Generators will join in this pooling system. 2.4
Incentives due to use of components made in Turkey Certain
mechanical and/or electromechanical items in the generation
facilities that are using renewable energy resources are
manufactured in Turkey. In that case, the Draft Law provides the
relevant generation plant will benefit from further incentives as
well as the fixed minimum electricity sale prices in the feed-in
tariff system.

The incentives will last for five years from the date of its
operation.

2.5 Other incentives

The Draft Law includes certain other incentives.

Any legal person that has a licence and produces electricity
within the scope of the Draft Law will benefit from a 90 per cent
discount on the system usage tariffs for 10 years from the
operation of the relevant facility.

Certain small-scale renewable energy generation facilities,
whose installed capacity is lower than 500 kWh and
micro-cogeneration facilities may transfer their surplus energy to
the distribution system and enjoys the pricing incentives of the
RES Support Mechanism. This is true even if they have not opted in.
Besides, depending on the energy transferring to the distribution
system, electricity-producing facilities using photovoltaic solar
energy will benefit from even more favourable prices for 15 years
from the establishment of the relevant facility.

3 Conclusion

Turkey's signing the Kyoto Protocol shows Turkey's
commitment to cleaner energy and highlights how important the
investments in renewable energy are for Turkey. The Kyoto Protocol
also enables emission trading (which is new for the Turkish
market), which will strengthen the value of renewable energy
investments.

Turkey's historical reliance on non-Turkish energy resources
is costly to the Turkish economy and a dependency on them is risky
(as political tensions can easily affect their supply). The most
efficient and secure way to achieve the goal to diversify and
increase internal supply is maximising domestic renewable energy
resources.

The High Planning Council produced the Electricity Market and
Supply Security Strategy Paper on 18 May 2009. According to this
paper, Turkey targets to make the share of electricity produced by
renewable resources amount to a minimum of 30 per cent of
Turkey's entire electricity production. This is a figure to aim
at but of course may change depending on various factors.

Clearly, Turkey cannot realise this target without further
private investment. To that end, more investor-friendly laws will
play a significant role in encouraging this investment and we
believe that when the Turkish Parliament passes the Draft Law this
will be a milestone towards that direction.

Necessary changes in broadcast media legislation are
finally on the legislative agenda

Introduction: the need for change

People involved in the media sector in Turkey have been
clamouring for change in the current broadcast media legislation
(to reflect recent rapid technological changes and to provide a
foreign investor-friendly legislative environment) for some time
now.

The main piece of legislation regulating the radio/television
broadcasting sector in Turkey is the Establishment of Radio and
Television Companies and Their Broadcasts No. 3984 (the Current
Law) which entered into force in 1994. Since then it has been
amended over 20 times to try and keep pace with changes in the
broadcast media sector but these amendments were simply not enough.
However, last month the Radio Television Supreme Council (the
Turkish broadcasting sector regulator) published a Draft Law on the
Establishment of Radio and Television and Broadcast Services (the
Draft Law) on its website (www.rtuk.gov.tr) which promises more comprehensive legislative
changes. This article will provide an insight into some of the most
significant proposed changes in the Draft Law.

The Draft Law is mainly based on the Directive 2007/65/ EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2007
amending Council Directive 89/552/ EEC (i.e. the Audiovisual Media
Services Directive). On the other hand, many adaptations have been
made to comply with the Turkish legislation during the preparations
of the Draft and please note that other changes may yet be made
before the Draft enters force.

Scope of application

The scope of application of the broadcast media legislation has
been expanded. The Current Law is, in principle, only applicable
for the broadcasts made from Turkey (i.e. the broadcasting signal
erupts from Turkey). However, the Draft Law states that it is
applicable if the broadcast is within the jurisdiction of the
Republic of Turkey. Article 4 of the Draft Law sets out the
circumstances where the Republic of Turkey has jurisdiction over a
broadcast, which include:

where the broadcaster has set up its main office (merkez
büro) in the Republic of Turkey;

where the Republic of Turkey is the place where the broadcaster
makes its editorial decisions;

where the Republic of Turkey is the principal location of the
broadcaster's workforce; and

where the principal place of the broadcaster's operations
is first started in the Republic of Turkey and the business of the
broadcaster is closely connected with the Turkish economy.

The direct impact of this extension in scope is that now more
broadcasting companies (which broadcast inside or outside of
Turkey) will fall within the scope of Turkish broadcasting
legislation.

Foreign ownership limits

Critics of the Current Law pointed out that it was not creating
an investor-friendly environment for foreign investors interested
in the Turkish broadcasting market. Under the Current Law, foreign
persons/legal entities can (i) hold a maximum 25 per cent of the
shares of a broadcasting company and (ii) are only able to own
shares in one such company. Although some attempts were made in the
Turkish Parliament to relax these limits, all of these attempts
eventually proved futile.

The Draft Law makes another attempt to relax foreign ownership
limits by allowing foreign persons/legal entities to (i) hold a
maximum of 50 per cent of the shares in one broadcasting company;
and (ii) hold shares in a second broadcasting company. We believe
the relaxation in these ownership limits, which is on the
legislative agenda, will encourage foreign investors to take a
closer look at the Turkish broadcasting market.

Turkey's transition to digital terrestrial
television

An important novelty brought by the Draft Law is that it
carefully regulates Turkey's transition to Digital Terrestrial
Television (DTT). Some of the important terms about this transition
are as follows:

The Draft Law introduces many definitions related to DTT, such
as "multiplex" or "multiplex capacity".

The Draft Law clarifies the timing of the transaction and sets
out the process of granting a DTT multiplex capacity by a tender
(which only broadcasters that have been broadcasting for at least
one year can take part in). The Draft Law sets out a six-month
period (from the date the Draft Law enters into force) for DTT
frequency plan and implementation schedule preparations, and the
DTT tender will be made within one year.

Current broadcasters are allowed to continue their analogue
terrestrial broadcasts until the DTT tender, and some of the
analogue terrestrial broadcasters that win the DTT multiplex
frequencies will also be allowed to continue analogue broadcasts
for three years following the tender (based on their ranking in the
tender and their analogue capacity).

DTT broadcasts shall start by two years from the grant of the
relevant frequencies and all analogue broadcasts in Turkey will
switch off within three years from such grant.

Conclusion: when?

The date of enactment of the Draft Law remains a moot point, but
the pressure is on as Turkey, as a part of the EU accession
negotiations (under Chapter 10: Information Society and Media), has
committed to unify its legislation with its EU counterparts by the
end of December 2009. If the Draft Law is passed shortly, this
should provide the legislative framework within which the Turkish
broadcast media market can flourish in future years.

Footnotes

1 Electricity capacity amounting to approximately 15,000
MW (including large-scale hydro-electricity generators which are
not considered as renewable energy resources under the Renewable
Energy Law) out of Turkey's currently installed capacity of
44,000

2 Please note that the first two incentives below apply
to facilities that start operation before 31 December
2011.

3 Please note that a combination of the incentives in the
Draft Law make up what is defined in the Draft Law as the RES
Support Mechanism which is (in short) a system (outside of the spot
market or realms of bi-lateral agreements) that renewable energy
generators can opt into so as to obtain fixed pricing/payment
benefits/protections.

Guner Law Office was established in 1996 and has since
grown into one of the major corporate, M&A, banking,
litigation, energy and TMT practices in Turkey. Guner Law Office is
headed by Ece Guner and works with international law firm Denton
Wilde Sapte.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
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The Sanctions and Anti Money Laundering Bill (the Bill), which seeks to create a post-Brexit legislative framework for the imposition and enforcement of sanctions in the UK, was published on 19 October 2017.

The Ministry of Customs and Trade ("the Ministry") has prepared the Communiqué according to Article 11 of the Regulation about the Organization of e-Trade and the e-trade enabler supplier and Art. 16 of the intermediary service providers published on 26/8/2015 in the 29457 numbered official gazette, for agreements for the sale of goods and services or for orders of service and intermediary service providers.

The legal system of the Republic of Cyprus provides various routes for the enforcement of foreign judgments which have been issued abroad.

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